Beginnings
by helloyesimhere
Summary: When Nick, resident Ranger of Norgate, investigates a common thief, he does not expect what he finds. Will he help the thief or will he leave them to their fate? *prologue posted* *not a Mary-Sue or Marty Stu* WARNING: was written when I was younger. Read at your own risk. Not very good, but left up for sentimental purposes.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:Beginnings**

 **Author: CrazedFangirl13**

 **Rating: Kplus, but only for a reference to child abuse.**

 **Notes: Hi! This is my first story on here, and really more of a long one shot to figure out how things work. That being said, I appreciate** ** _constructive_** **criticism and would love if you could leave me a review! This is a fully completed story, and I will post updates on Tuesdays until the whole thing is on here. It's only about three chapters long. Enjoy!**

Natalie was scared. Frightened. Terrified. She had escaped about five days ago, and hadn't been caught yet. But the man she had escaped from, she knew he was coming after her. And when he found her, she would be beaten so bad. Her only hope was to keep moving, trying to get as far away as possible. She just had to survive long enough. That brought her back to her current problem.

She was starving. Literally. She had been stealing a little food from farms in the area she had been traveling through, but was too scared to take much. She had to get more food soon, though, or she wouldn't be able to make it any farther. She made a decision that would set in motion events that she had no way of seeing now. She decided to rob a certain William Dooly of MacDoug's Clearing


	2. Chapter 2

Nick was sitting outside his cabin, with a cup of coffee, reading a sheaf of reports from the other fiefs that had just come in with the post rider. He sighed contentedly, savoring his coffee. He had just returned from investigating reports of a small band of Scotti that were raiding in Norgate, his fief. He had successfully frightened them off, and was now looking forward to a few days of peace.

Of course, at that moment, he saw a farmer walking through the woods toward his cabin. He thought about getting up, then decided against it. He simply sat and waited for the farmer to make his way towards him, and continued to sit there quietly when the farmer made it into the clearing.

The farmer was obviously unnerved to see the Ranger just sitting there quietly, seemingly waiting for him. He started when the still figure spoke. "What can I do for you?"

He stammered out a reply. "I didn't mean to disturb you none, Ranger. Just needed a bit o' help..." Nick nodded, hoping to encourage the man to talk a little faster. "Help with what?" The farmer had taken off his hat, and was twisting it nervously. "Well, Ranger, there's been thieving going on around my house, whereabouts. And it's not just me that's been having things stolen. I was hoping you could come out and catch the thief."

Nick considered this. "What's been taken so far?" The farmer answered promptly, so promptly that Nick suspected that he had been going over his grievances in his head, as people who feel they have been slighted so often do. "Food. Only food. It's as if the thief knows we need out food and wants to take it from us."

Nick shook his head slightly. It never ceased to amaze him how much people would believe something once it was in their mind. He decided to forego pointing out that this was slightly unreasonable and proceed directly to wherever this farmer lived and catch the thief. He interrupted the farmer as he went off on a long tangent about no good thieves that stole other people's work. "Where do you live?"

The farmer, taken by surprise, took a minute to collect his thoughts. "Over by MacDoug's Clearing. William Dooly of MacDoug's Clearing I am." Nick nodded, digesting this information. It was a short walk to the farmer's area of residence, only about a day and a half. It was considerably shorter for Nick, as he would be riding his horse, Checker. He dismissed the farmer by promising he would be there by the next day. The farmer nodded slowly, and turned and left the clearing again.

The next day, Nick set out at dawn. He covered ground at a brisk pace, arriving a little after noon. He spent the rest of the day riding to the surrounding farms, and was able to discover a pattern in the thief's victims. They were moving steadily south, and Nick determined that the next farm to be struck would most likely be one near William's. He obtained the farmer's permission to camp there for the night, and set up camp.


	3. Chapter 3

It was a good thing Nick was very alert. If he hasn't been watching closely, he would've missed the small signs that someone was walking through the yard. By straining his eyes, he could make out a dim shape flitting through the grass, using the shadows to hide himself. He was about to rise and go after the person, but something held him back.

He saw the shape turn, and realized they had seen his pack of food. They were obviously going to steal from him. He pretended to be asleep, watching them through barely slitted eyes. Surprisingly, the person didn't just rummage through the bag. They seemed to know exactly where the food was, and Nick realized that they must have seen him making his own dinner that night. He saw the thief turn and creep away, and eventually fade from sight.

The rest of the night had passed peacefully, and as Nick awoke the next morning, he thought about the events of the previous night. He had no idea what had kept him from catching the thief, save that he had been impressed with their ability to move silently. He wasn't worried about tracking them, however, so after a quick breakfast of coffee and fruit, he set out after them.

He could see few signs of their passing, although with his Ranger training he could easily follow them. At one point, he thought he heard something like a twig being snapped, and quickly determined whether or not it was indeed a twig. He could see nothing, so he continued on tracking the thief. Suddenly, the tracks came to an end.

He decided that the thief must be trying to hide somewhere, and began to methodically search the clearing. As he walked past a tree that was so small it was almost a bush, he paused, sure he had heard something. He turned toward the bush, and heard the small sound again. It was a quick intake of breath, almost a whimper of fear or pain. He took another step towards the bush and called out in a neutral tone, nocking an arrow to his bow as he did so. "Who's there? I want you out where I can see you."

He peered through the branches and saw, to his surprise, what looked to be a young girl. She looked to be no more than thirteen years of age, but it was hard to tell, as she appeared to be starving- literally. She was little more than skin and bones, and Nick knew instinctively that she had been stealing to survive, and that was the only reason. He lowered his bow and unknocked the arrow.

He took a closer look at the girl, and seeing that she was frightened, tried to look unthreatening. This look was not aided by the huge longbow in his hand and the two knives by his side.

He decided to try and coax the girl out of hiding. Trying to make his voice seem unthreatening, he called out to her. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. Why don't you come out? We can talk."

The girl shook her head. She was obviously terrified, and Nick didn't know why. Then it struck him. He walked away slowly, making sure that the girl didn't run away. He slowly placed his large bow on the ground, and unbuckled his knife scabbard and dropped it by the bow. He then walked a little for ward, until there was about ten meters between him and the bush. He called again to the girl, hoping that his hating rid of the bow and knives would have encouraged her. "Come on out. I won't hurt you. There's nothing to be afraid of."

Although he didn't know it, it was more the unintentional command that he voiced rather than his reassurances, that made the girl come out. She was so used to following commands that she followed this one. She crept out of the bush, making sure that there was enough room between her and the stranger so that she could run if he struck out at her. She had no way of knowing that he had lightning reflexes, unlike another man that had threatened her before.

Nick, studying her closely, was able to make out more of the girl's features. She had sandy brown hair, and amber eyes that seemed to shift color as he looked at her. He decided to try and make this strange young girl feel more at ease, so he asked her the first thing that came to mind. "Are you the one that's been stealing from around here?"

The girl suddenly had an extremely fearful look in her eyes, as if afraid he would strike her. She nodded her head and replied. "Yes."

Nick frowned thoughtfully, then, as the girl flinched, he realized that, for some reason, he was scaring her. He hastily rearranged his features into a neutral look. "I'm going to get my... weapons now." He told her, unable to think of an alternative word for weapons, and instantly regretted it. She looked so frightened, like a deer about to be killed, and one that knew it. He was reminded, ever so painfully, of his sister, who had been killed when he was much younger.

He hastened to calm the girl. "It's okay, I'm still not going to hurt you. We just need to go back to the farm so I can tell the farmer I caught the thief."

For the first time, a tiny spark of hope ignited in her eyes. "You're not going to tell them it was me?", she whispered.

Nick shook his head. "No. But I do want to know your name."

The girl hesitated, as if reluctant. Then, to his surprise she shook her head. "I can't. Then you'll take me back to my par-"

She stopped suddenly, as if afraid she had given too much away. Nick looked at her suspiciously. He was beginning to think that this girl had run away from her family, but why? He looked at her directly and asked, "Did you run away?"

She looked at the ground and nodded. Nick sighed. "I guess I'll have to take you back then."

Panic suddenly lit the girl's eyes. "No! You can't! Please!"

Nick taken aback by her ardent refusal, asked, "Why?" She looked down at the ground again, and replied. "I was having... family problems. But you can't take me back!"

Nick nodded reluctantly. "Okay. But I'm going to have to take you somewhere. There's an orphanage nearby. That's where we'll go. I'll just tell the farmer that we're going."

Nick was relieved to see the girl nod. He bent down and picked up his weapons. He stepped toward the girl, who immediately backed away a pace. Nick sighed. He could see where this was going to go


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry for the delay, last week was my last week of swimming and that was jjust kind of a big thing for me. This is the last chapter of this fic, but this is a prequel to another story that I have half-written. That story should be posted around the time school starts for me, which is the 24th. Keep your eye out for it. Now, one important thing: yes, I do realize that Natalie's name is different at the end of this chapter than it is at the beginning if the story, and there is a good reason for this, which will be explained in my next story.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][**

Nick sighed wearily. It had taken him a half hour to coax the girl out of the woods into the clearing. He quickly found the farmer's wife, as the farmer was out working in the fields, and told her that he has found the thief and would be leaving.

Nick and the girl were walking on the path to the orphanage. Checker was waking behind Nick, because if Nick rode, then he would leave the girl behind. It was nearing dusk, so Nick decided to camp for the night.

Nick had tried to start a conversation with the girl. However, she hadn't seemed very eager to talk, so he was left alone with his thoughts. He had started thinking about the girl, and had realized that she had a certain skill in moving unheard, and even a little without being seen. He thought about the future that was in store for her, a very bleak one to be sure. Most likely, she would be "adopted", that is sold by the orphanage to some rich family for a servant. On the other hand... He hardly dared to consider the possibility. But then again, there _was_ precedent.

He was thinking about asking the girl to be his apprentice. He knew that she would only be the second girl apprentice in the corps, the first being the royal princess Madelyn, or, as she was called by the members of the Ranger corps, plain Madelyn or Maddie. She was a second year apprentice, with her master being Will Treaty, a good friend of Nick's. He had no doubt that Will would approve.

After Nick and the girl had eaten, he broached the subject to her. "I've been thinking. You have a certain skill at some of the things that Rangers do. How would you like to be my apprentice?" He saw her look up, and ready to refuse from the look on her face. He hurried on before she could say anything. "I'd be teaching you a lot. How to move silently and unseen, how to use different weapons, how to defend you self against multiple enemies, and other things. I'm not going to force you into it, but I think you'd do good. What do you say?"

The girl looked up. Her attention had definitely been caught when he talked about defending herself, Nick thought. He saw her think about it for a few moments, then waited with slightly tenses muscles for her reply. She took a deep breath, and nodded her head.

"Okay, I'll do it." Nick had no idea the amount of courage it had taken her to say that, but he did know that even though she apparently trusted him enough to be his apprentice, it would still be a long, hard fight for her to overcome her fear. But it didn't matter to him, as he was willing to help her. "One more thing," he said. "What's your name?"

The girl looked him in the eye before replying, with a slight uptilt to her head, "My name is Piper."


End file.
